The Purple Paladin
by ChildOfTheGods12
Summary: It was a simple mission. Go to the planet Graxt, do a simple recon mission, then go back to the castle. Only... Keith and Lance soon learn it's not as simple as they expected, when an Indigo Lion resembling the lions of Voltron crash lands on the planet. That's when they learn that there is so... so much more going on, and that, apparently... They have a child.
1. Into The Warp

Chapter One

... Sometime In The Future...

It's missions like these that made Laith wonder just how bad the universe could be. Several times a month he has to go out and stop some alien race from causing some sort of havoc on some planet in some point of space.

"Laith." He hears, and he looks at the face that popped up on the bottom of his dash, "Are you even listening?" Kenneth asks, and Laith smirks, "Nope."

Kenneth sighs, his purple eyes falling shut as he shakes his head, "Did you hear a word Kallura said?"

"Nope." Laith answers, and Kenneth sighs again, "Are you kidding me?" He asks, looking at him, his purple ears moving backwards in a meaning of exasperation.

"Nope. What did she say?" He asks, and Kenneth rubs his nose with a clawed hand, "Dear god. We're screwed if our tank can't even pay attention."

"Laith, I said we need to stop the Dexterra's before they time hop." He hears Kallura say, and Laith smiles. "Ah, right."

Kenneth groans, "I don't even know how we're twins, Laith. You act so much like dad."

Aeryn chimes in with, "Technically, you're faternal twins. Kenneth looks like a Galra, and Laith looks human."

Kenneth rolls his eyes, "No, I so didn't know this about ourselves, Aeryn. Thank you for telling me, because now I have to go change my race from human to half human." He says, and Laith laughs.

"It's hard to believe you are half human, Kenny, what with the size of your feet." He says, laughing, and his brothers angry expression pops up on his dash.

"Laith, I will shove my foot up your-" Kallura interrupts him by saying, "Focus, team. We need to keep our focus on the mission, and not on feet." Kallura says, sounding rather exasperated.

Laith smiles at her voice, smirking as he trails behind her in his lion, "You've got all my attention, Princess." He says playfully, and Kenneth gives an aggravated groan, "Seriously, can you not flirt with our cousin for once in your life."

"Negative, Kenny-boy. She's not even our real cousin, if you're speaking biologically." Laith responds, and Kenneth groans, "You're a creep. Like dad..., and don't call me Kenny-boy!" He yells at the end, glaring at his brothers image on his dash, his teeth bared.

"Ey, you have to admit Dad is pretty slick. I mean, he got Pa, didn't he? And what's the matter, Kenny-boy? Don't like the pet name? Should I call you Kitty?" He says, teasing his brother, and Kenneth gives a growl.

"Call me that and they won't find your body, Laith." Kenneth says, and Aeryn groans. "You might as well give up, Kenneth. Laith still calls me Mirco-Shortie."

Kallura sighs, and she rubs the bridge of her nose, "Stop it, all of you. We need to stay focused, especially if you want to be home by dinner."

Teuila laughs happily, "Yea! Dad is making pasta!" She says, and Laith smiles at his friend.

"You're just like your dad, Te, always thinking with your stomach." He says, and Kenneth sighs.

"And you're like our dad, Laith, always thinking with you-" He's cut off by Kallura calling his name, before she adds, "Knock it off. We've arrived." She says, and Laith looks up from his console.

An oblong, black and grey ship slowly moves through space a little ways away, and Laith raises a brow. "We... Are those... Dexterras? Didn't they have more high tech equipment than that?"

"Yeah... They came into a new government form that took all the tecnology and used it to make a time traveler. We're to stop them before they do any true damage with time traveling." She says, and Aeryn chimes in.

"From what I gathered from their data base, they hope to time travel back to when our parents were in the original lions. Back to the time of the Galra rule to help erradicate Voltron." She says, and Laith blinks.

"Uh... Yeah... That's..." He starts, and his twin finishes with, "Pretty bad. Especially if they kill our parents."

Teuila nods, "Yeah, then none of us would ever be born... Well, maybe Laith and Kenneth, but they'd be orphans again."

"Shut up, Teuila." Kenneth interjects, and Laith seconds that notion. "Yeah, shut it." He says, before looking towards Kallura's image on his dash.

"What do we do?" He asks, and she hums in thought, "Okay, Indigo and Violet, I want you two go from behind. Pink, you from underneath, and Orange, I want you with me in the front. We'll be the distaction." She says, and everyone collectively nods.

Kenneth and Laith go in behind, Aeryn goes from beneath, and Teuila with Kallura to the front. "On my mark, L and K, I want you both to blast the engines. They can't time hop if they don't have any means of moving. A, I want you to blast the underbelly to damage the hull. Think you guys can do that?" She asks, and again, everyone nods.

A silent second later, Teuila interjects with, "I'm nodding. Is everyone else nodding?" She asks, and everyone collectively groans.

"Yes." They say all in time, which Laith instantly follows with, "Jinx! You guys all owe me food goo!"

"Ugh, Laith." Kenneth says, and the human-appearing twin clamps his mouth shut.

Kallura and Teuila slowly move to the front, flying closer. A screen pops up on Kallura's monitor with an octopus looking alien, speaking in a garbled language.

"We, the Second Generation of Voltron, are surrending our lions to you, sir, so you may spare the universe." Kallura says, and more garbled words come out. "Ah... I'm sorry, Ma'am..." Kallura says, sounding flustered, "I didn't mean to offend you." She says.

More garbled noises sound out, and Laith watches Kallura's expression from his dash, her expression turning panicked for a split second, then calm the next, "We... Ah... The others are coming soon, I assure you."

More garbled nonsense, and Kallura smiles politely, "I am Princess Kallura Shirogane of the Altean kingdom, and... Now, KL!" She says, alerting Kenneth and Laith, who both fire their mouth cannons at the engines.

The ship jostles, and Kallura, followed by Teuila fly out of the view of the ship as it tries to fire a shot at them. Laith whistles and grins, as Kallura calls to Aeryn to blast the ship from under.

It's mere seconds before the blast hit the ship, does the ship open up a warp hole just above them. When the blast hits the ship, it sends the ship sprilling upward and towards the warp hole.

It seems to happen in a blur to him, as one second Laith and his brother are flying towards Kallura and Teuila, then, the next, Laith's lion is hit by the spiralling ship, sent flying towards the warp hole in a ridiculous speed.

"Laith!" Kenneth screams, quickly turning his lion around to try and go after his brother, and he can distinctly hear his younger twin screaming back his name, as he vanishes through the warp hole... With the ship. And the Indigo Lion.


	2. Recklessness VS Selflessness

**A/N: I'll make this brief so that way you can carry on with reading! This is a slow burn story, so it will have multiple chapters! I hope to publish one chapter a day, and they probably will range in between the 700 to 2000 word range because any longer feels like trying to walk through honey to me! Thank you for reading my story! ~ Deku!**

* * *

Chapter Two

Kenneth is shaking hard enough he has to take his hands off the controls, and he bites his lip hard enough to make it bleed. Kallura's face pops up on his dash, "Kenneth! What happened?" She asks, her expression panicked.

"Laith. He was hit by the ship and sent through the warp hole! We... We have to go get him!" He says, that streak of recklessness he's known to have gotten from his father flaring up.

"We can't, Kenneth. There is no warp hole, we can't." He hears Kallura say, and he growls. "Then find another ship and get them to use a warp hole so we can find him!"

Aeryn's android face pops up on the dash above Kallura, and she sighs, "Kenneth, you know that the likeliness of another ship, if there is another one, going to the same time zone as the one Laith is in, is... slim. We don't even know when he is, much less where."

Kenneth glares at her, "Shut up, Aeryn." He looks to Kallura, "If you don't find a way to get my brother back, I swear." He says, angrily, letting the threat hang. Kallura sighs, "Let's see what my mom says, Kenneth. We can ask her what she thinks."

Kenneth wants to argue, to start a search for another ship now instead of wasting time trying to wait for permission to time warp. Sometimes he wishes his team mates had a reckless side like him, as then doing reckless tasks would be easier...

Though, what his teammates call recklessness, Allura, Keith, and Lance would call it selflessness with a spice of anger management issues... As the Violet Lion is a lion of Selflessness. Much like the Indigo Lion is the lion of Intuition, the White Lion is the lion of Protection. The Orange Lion is the lion of Optimism, and, the Pink Lion is the lion of Thoughtfulness.

He follows Kallura and the others in, his mind on his brother as he worries about him. He knows his brother can care for himself, for the most part, but, he was nothing if not like Lance. What if his brother finds himself swept off his feet by some girl who betrays him, and... His mind would not seem to stop running.

It took a good five minutes to get to the castleship, and Kenneth has progressed from angry and concerned, to panicked and enraged. He puts Violet in her bay, before quickly going to the control room, nearly beating Kallura and Shiro there. "Are there any other Dexterra ships nearby?" He asks, panicked, and Allura blinks.

"Um... I can look. Why do you ask." She asks, turning to look to the control panel. Kallura walks up behind Kenneth, looking concerned, "Laith was sucked in a warp hole."

Kenneth glares at his leader, "He wasn't 'sucked' into a warp hole, he was thrown into it." He says, and Allura holds up her hands, trying to divert the attention back to her.

"Hold on, so... Laith is in another time?" She asks, and Kenneth looks at her, his natural frown set deep on his purple face, "Yes, and we need to get him back. God knows that little cheesehead will get himself killed. Somehow."

Shiro presses a weighted hand on Kenneths' shoulder, looking at him, "Laith is a smart boy, Kenneth. I'm sure he'll be fine."

Kenneth rolls his eyes so hard it almost looked like it hurt, as images of his brother prancing after cute girls flicker through his mind. "Please. My brother is as dense as an elephant. Or as the alloy used in your arm." He says, looking at Shiro.

Shiro frowns and he takes the hand off, going over to Allura. "Could you try and find any possible ships nearby?" He asks, touching the small of his wife's back, and she smiles at him calmly.

"Of course." She says, turning and placing both her hands on the controls, opening up the locator built in to the ship. Shiro turns to look at his only child, smiling, "Could you go find the others? We need them to meet here." He says, and Kallura smiles calmly.

"Of course." She says, turning and exitting the room. Shiro then turns to look at Kenneth, who is starting to get annoyed by Shiro's calm appearance, "Go get some food from the kitchen, and then go find your parents. I want you to notify them." He says, and while Kenneth wants to argue, he knows better than to disobey Shiro.

Especially since he didn't doubt he wouldn't get a flick in the forehead from Pa if he blatantly disobeyed. "I'll tell Kallura that is she finds your parents before you to meet you in the kitchen." Shiro adds, before turning to look over his wife's shoulder.

Kenneth growls, and turns, heading to the kitchen as the urge to either slam something shut, or to break something raises in his stomach. He is normally good at holding in his temper, but granted, his brother, who acts a bit like a stability module for him, just few through a freaking warp hole.

Not to mention, if he hits hard enough, he could break something. Either in him, or outside of him. He makes it to the kitchen, where Hunk and Teuila were gushing over food together.

Hunk looks at Kenneth when he answers, and a sincere expression grosses his face as he gazes at the fuming 16 year old. "Are you okay, Kenneth? Te told me what happened." He says, and in respond to his question, Kenneth slams a cabinet door shut. Hard enough to make it sound like he broke the frame work.

"Peachy." He bits out, dropping his bowl on the counter unceremoniously as he guickly spoons food into it. Hunk moves over to him and places a hand onto his shoulder, his expression gentle, "Wanna talk about it?"

Kenneth shoots him a glare strong enough to make Hunk recoil his hand, out of fear of Kenneth actually biting it off. "No. I just want to get him back." He says, angry.

He growls when he realises he forgot a spoon, and as Hunk tries to talk to him, which he zones out, he goes to get one. After giving the drawer a rather satisfying loud closing, he hears Hunk say, "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

Kenneth looks at him and glares, "No. I just want to quickly eat this stupid food so stupid Shiro won't tell my dads that I haven't eaten today and get me in trouble which then means I can't go get my stupid brother who is lost in time." He says, angrily, slamming his hands down on the counter, hearing an ugly sounding crack of splintered wood under his hands.

He more than likely would have sore hands and arms tomorrow. "What was that about stupid Shiro, Kenneth?" He hears, and he nearly chokes on the spoonful of food he was shoveling in his mouth.

He looks back after coughing, and he saw Lance and Keith in the doorway of the kitchen, Lance worried, and Keith unfazed.

Kenneth both doesn't know what to say, or how to react, so he does neither and quickly turns to eat more food. "Kenneth James McKogane, what about stupid Shiro?" He hears Keith say again, hearing footsteps coming up to him.

He whines mostly, fearing the full name like it was the devil incarnate, "He wants me to eat before going to find you." He says, and Lance's hand gently curls around Kenneths' ear, rubbing gently.

"About your brother, yes. Kallura told us already." Lance says, knowing that his son calms down much like Keith does, with affectionate and sensual caresses. And reason. He keeps rubbing his sons ear with one hand, the other circling his back, slightly putting pressure on it to make the action mirror a massage.

Kenneth tries to hold onto his anger, Hunk and Teuila leaving the kitchen to leave them alone. Keith sits in the chair next to him, taking Kenneth's hand in an awkward, but affirming, manner. "We'll get him back, Kenny. Don't worry, okay? Your brother will be fine." He says, calmly, and Kenneth pokes at his food.

"I know, but... He... I'm supposed to protect him." He says, pouting as Lance releases his gentle grip on his ear, still rubbing his back. "You couldn't have known this would happen, Kenny."

Kenneth feels his rage flare back up, and he glares at his food, "I should've, though. What good am I if I can't even keep my family safe." He says, shoving his bowl away hard enough to make it fall onto the ground by accident.

Keith looks at the shattered dish, before looking at Kenneth, "Hey, look at me." He says, taking his sons chin in his hand and angling it to look at him.

"You are a good brother. Nothing in the universe can change that. Instead of focusing on what you think you did wrong, focus on what you can do to fix it." He says, and Kenneth pouts. "Patience yields focus." Keith says, and Kenneth whines.

"I know that. I'm not exactly patient though." He says, and Lance laughs some, "We know. You got that from him." He says, jutting his thumb towards Keith.

Keith looks at his husband, faintly glaring, "You aren't exactly patient either, Mr. Now-Can-You-Unchain-Me."

Lance frowns, "I was being forced to hold a tree! That's not exactly comfortable!" He defends, and Keith softly raises a brow as he smirks, "Really now?"

Lance glares at him, "Yeah, really! How about you try being chained to a tree! See how you like it!" He says, and Keith laughs, "Who's impatient now?" He asks, deeply as he raises his brow at Lance.

Apparently Kenneth is the only one to not understand the context of that message, as Lance goes rigid, and then red. He knows Lance can never seem to respond to Keith when the latter does that expression and voice, but, he never understood why.

Probably because he never cared to try and think deeper of it. He probably would if he actually cared to look into it. Keith looks at Kenneth, "Look, We'll find your brother, okay? Me and Lance won't stop until he's home safe, alright?"

Kenneth smiles faintly and nods, which prompts his parents to hug him gently. When they pull away, Lance pats his head, "Meet us in the control room once you finish eating, okay?" He says, smiling, and Kenneth nods.

"Yes sir." Lance laughs, and heads to the exit. Keith stays for a moment longer, and he stares at Kenneth. "What?" He asks, and Keith smiles faintly.

"You are becoming more and more like me when I was your age." He says, and Kenneth blinks, "Is that a good thing?"

"It can be. It can be bad too, though." Keith says thoughtfully, before smiling, "Don't end up too much like me, okay?"

Kenneth smiles at him softly, "I... can't promise that, Pa." He says, and Keith chuckles faintly, before going to join the others in the control room.

* * *

 **A/N: I will post a photo of Kenneth and Laith on my tumblr account Child Of The Gods sometime tomorrow, so you are more than welcome to go check that out!**


	3. Future, Then Present

_**Chapter Three**_

He walks in the control room, were everyone had already gathered around each other as they talk.

Kenneth looks at them, before going over to his parents and standing between them, being almost as tall as Lance. "Have we come up with anything?" He asks.

Allura smiles at him kindly, and she nods her head, "We have come up with a plan. I've located at least three more Dexterra ships within the solar system. If we all go in pairs, with me and Coran staying on the ship to track you, then we can possibly find your brother."

Kenneth takes a slow breath, trying to stay calm, "Okay... Um... How are we doing the pairing?"

Lance gently rubs his sons ear, which helps get Kenneth calm. "We were thinking it'd be me, Pa, and Pidge through one warp hole, Hunk, Shiro and Teulia through the second, and you with Aeryn through the third."

Kenneth looks at Aeryn, and she smiles faintly. Allura smiles at Kenneth, and she presses a hand onto his shoulder, making him jump some. "Let's go find your brother." She says, and Kenneth nods, dislodging his fluffy ear from Lance's hand.

It's been a long time since he saw his fathers in their lions. After Allura made the Secondary Lions, everyone from the original Voltron stepped down. Of course, it didn't help that the Black Lion was destroyed at the last battle against the Galra.

He remembers the stories they'd tell him and his brother when they were children. Lance singlehandedly saving a mermaid-like species from being eaten and mind manipulated, Keith's adventures in the Blade of Mamora...

They were what possibly drove the boys to both wanting to pilot lions. Granted, Kenneth wanted Indigo, but... His brother was chosen by Indigo. He grew to love Violet, the lion having saved Kenneth and Laith from death more times than he could count.

"Kenneth?" Lance says, concerned for his eldest, and Kenneth's face pops up on the bottom of his dash, "Yes Dad?"

Lance smiles some, as he sees Keiths' face pop up above his sons face, "Be safe, okay?" Lance says, and Keith smiles. "Patience yeilds focus, Kenny. Remember that."

Kenneth smiles, and he nods, "Okay... You guys be safe too." He says back, before saying, "Aeryn? You ready to head to the ship?" He asks, and Aeryn's robotic face replaces his parents on his dash.

"Ready when you are, Kenneth." She says, and Kenneth nods, "Okay." He says, before pulling up the coordinates Allura sent him.

He takes a deep breath, before moving the controls forward. He doesn't know why, but... Anxiety is setting in him. A churning, inward feeling that makes him feel sick, because he is getting the feeling that there is going to be so much about to happen.

And in a way, it terrifies him.

* * *

 ** _... Present Time ..._**

* * *

"Keith!" A very chipper Hunk and Allura call, hugging the raven haired half breed when he walks into the control room.

Keith at first looks relatively awkward and confused, before he gave a faint smile and hug in return. "Hey guys." He says, smiling.

Allura pulls away, "What are you doing here? Has something happeneed at the Blade?" She asks, and Keith smiles somewhat bigger, seemingly shy, "Uh... no. I actually... finished my mission there, and uh... Wanted to..." he looks past Allura, and sees Shiro, deciding to use him as a topic change.

"Hey, Shiro." He says, and the Japanese man turns to look at him, before grinning, "Keith, hey." He says, coming over to them. Keith stares for a moment, before Shiro asks, "How are you?"

"Pretty good." Keith answers awkwardly, rubbing the back of his hooded neck. He hasn't yet pulled down his hood to expose the Galra mark adoring his left cheek, nor explained why he is here. He's hoping he wouldn't have to do either and that the team would just openly accept him back onto Voltron.

Hunk smiles and wraps an arm around Keith, "I'm glad you're back." He says, smiling, and Keith looks like he feels awkward. "Uh... Thanks?"

Shiro gives a faint chuckle, "So... What brings you here?" He asks, rewording Allura's earlier question, and the half Galra flinches.

"I was... wondering if maybe... I could come back on the team?" He asks somewhat quickly, and Shiro blinks, before smiling, "I don't see why not. You're still a member of Voltron, you're still family."

Keith relaxes at those words, before a grin the size of Texas spans across his face, "Um... Speaking of family... I... Found my mom." He says, grinning.

Allura looks, for a moment, put off, before she grins, "Really?" She asks, and Keith looks thrilled, nodding, "Yeah. She works for Blade... I was kinda hoping... If you guys wanted to meet her? All of you?"

Shiro smiles, "I most certainly would." He says, and Hunk nods, "Heck yeah, man! Is she kick butt! Is she Galra like you?" He asks, excitedly as he pokes Keith's face.

Keith rolls his eyes fondly at Hunk, pushing away his hand, "Yes, Hunk, she's Galra. Her name is Krolia." He says, looking at his bandana-friend.

Allura clasps her hands together, "Lovely! Go find Pidge, Hunk, and tell her to meet us..." She looks at Keith, "In the dining hall?"

Keith nods, "I can guide Kro... mom... There." He says, and Allura smiles at him, "Do you mind if I do it? I... Would like to talk to her."

Keith looks hesitant, "I um... dunno... I can ask if she's okay with it." He says, before looking towards the exit. "Hey, mom." He says, blinking, and, low and behold, Krolia steps into the room with them.

"Would you be okay with-" He starts, but is interrupted by Krolia smiling at Allura, "I'd be honored to walk with you." She says, and Allura smiles.

"Wonderful."

Krolia looks to Keith, then Shiro, "Is this that Lance you discussed?" She asks, looking at Shiro curiously.

Keith stares at her, mortified, before shaking his head slowly, "Um... no. Mom, this is Shiro, leader of Voltron." He says, using a hand to point him out, before splaying that same hand towards Hunk.

"And this is Hunk, one of the members of Voltron." He says, Krolia slowly smiling. Hunk gapes at the tall purple woman, before smiling, "He has your hair!"

Keith face palms, as Krolia raises a brow, "My hair is dark purple though, and Keith's is black like his fathers." She says, confused.

Keith sighs, "No, mom. He means we both have mullets... God, you sound like Lance, Hunk."

Hunk shrugs, before Allura steps up to Krolia, smiling, "Shall we?" She asks, and Krolia gives a smile, nodding, before following Allura out.

Hunk and Shiro smile, "I'm gonna go find Pidge." Hunk says, followed by Shiro who adds, "And I'm gonna go with ALlura and your mother, Keith... Why don't you change, and go find Lance?"

Keith nods and watches both Paladins leave, his brow faintly raised in confusion over what both Paladins thought was funny enough to have an amused grin on both their faces... ?


	4. Am Almost Bonding Moment

Chapter Four

Staring downward, he swishes his arms upward, and Lance moves in the water. He is starting to get used to swimming upside down in the crazy Altean pool, finding it just as enjoyable as he found swimming on Earth to be.

He is so lost in the serenity of the calm water that he doesn't hear the door open. He completely misses the sound of his name being called, but, he doesn't miss the pools of purple grey looking up at him, black hair splaying outward around the neck, and framing his face.

Lance momentarily wonders if he's dreaming, not that it'd be the first time he is, a situation Lance doesn't want to look too deep into, and he blinks. "I should've looked here, first." Keith says, and Lance blinks again in disbelief, "Keith?" He watches the half breed nod, and Lance gaps at him.

There he is, wearing his traditional red jacket, tight black shirt, and jeans... red boots. The only thing is the purple looking mark on his face that throws him off some, making him wonder if he really is dreaming. "Is that a bruise?" Lance finds himself asking aloud, even though he never meant to say it, nor would he admit it looks... Adorable.

Keith raises a hand to touch the purple mark shyly, "No? Why? Does it look weird?" He asks, self conscious, and Lance shakes his head, finding it anything but weird. "No. What is it?"

Keith shrugs, dropping his hand, "Dunno. My mom has them on both sides of her face."

Lance looks confused, "Mom?" He asks, sounding surprised, and Keith nods, rubbing his neck. "Yes... Look, can you get out of the pool? I... wanna talk to you."

Lance blinks, before he nods, and tests his hand at trying to get out of the gravity defying pool. He only winds up falling out onto the ground, Keith having jumped backwards out of alarm of the falling body heading towards him.

Groaning, Lance sits up and rubs his head. A hand finds its way into his vision, and, hesitantly, he takes it, standing. "Thanks..." He says, softly, and Keith nods. "No problem."

Lance grabs his bag that he has set on the ground, close near the entrance of the pool that Allura finally explained to him how to use. He pulls out his towel, and a shirt, draping the towel around his hair like his sisters do, then tugging the shirt on. "What did you want to talk about?" He asks, trying not to sound concerned as he looks at Keith, who was staring at something behind Lance. Something Lance doesn't want to know exactly what he is staring at. Or at least, not most of him want to know.

"Huh? Oh, um... This..." He says, pointing at the mark on his face, and Lance raises a brow. Mindlessly, or maybe he does it on purpose, he finds himself drawing a finger across it. He gets rewarded with a faint gasp of surprise from Keith, who didn't expect Lance to touch him. "It feels like skin. It's not a bruise, right?" Lance asks, gently dragging his thumb over the purple flesh on Keith's otherwise pale face.

"Um... No. It's... well... Galra... Marker. I've been told they come with age." Keith says, and Lance smiles faintly at the thought that comes to mind.

"Your hair isn't going to turn purple, right? Cause purple hair and a mullet would just be criminal. Like, a huge fashion no." Lance teases, and Keith finds himself smiling. Some part of him had miss Lance, and not the part of him he'd want to miss any boy, ever.

He rolls his eyes to play off his smiling, though, and he smiles at Lance. "No, Lance. No purple hair, or at least, that's what my mom says."

Lance blinks, before his expression turns a bit downcast. He isn't so much sad that Keith found his mom, but more so by the thought that he hadn't seen his in... God, a year? A year and a half? He is craving one of her hugs, one of her homemade meals with sopapias and... all the good, minor things he never thought he'd miss. "You found your mother?"

Keith smiles and he nods, "Yeah... I... We met on a mission at Blade. She was undercover, and... Never mind. I'll tell you and everyone else later." He waves his hand, and smiles, "I want you to meet her." He says, smiling at Lance.

Lance looks surprised, blinking at him, before he smiles, "Okay. Is she coming here, or are we going to her, or...?" He asks, and Keith smiles.

"She's already here. I figured I'd introduce her to the people I work with." He says, and Lance looks away faintly, "So... you're staying here? You're returning to Voltron?" He asks, as Keith heads towards the elevators.

Lance follows him, and Keith nods, "Yes. I'll be returning to Red, and... you'll return to Blue. I bet you miss her, don't you?" He says, watching as Lance stands next to him awkwardly, not looking at him.

"Y... yeah." He says slowly, and Keith instantly recognises that voice. He places his hand on Lance's shoulder, and Lance looks at him shyly, "Hey, you will get Blue, and I will get Red. We'll be in the same lions we started in, and no one will take you from her. You belong to Voltron just as much as I do." He says, and Lance smiles.

He had seen that confident grin back when he first went to Keith about his insecurities, and, that was the grin that made Lance... wonder if he was actually as straight as he claims to be.

Lance smiles, and finds himself hugging Keith tightly. "Thank you." He says, as Keith hesitates to hug him back, for a moment. When Keith does hug him back, though, Lance nearly starts to cry. It... It is... so much... like his mothers hug. His mother was known for giving firm, but gentle hugs, and... Keith gave a hug just the same.

Keith goes to pull away, but, Lance holds him tighter. He places his face in his shoulder, "Please... don't pull away, yet." He says, softly.

Keith blinks, before hugging him back, and he rubs his back softly, "Are you okay?" He asks, and Lance doesn't answer. Keith for a moment looks incredibly concerned, before he flushes when grey and gold eyes blink at him, the elevator doors having just opened... To show Shiro and Pidge, Krolia behind them.

"Uh... Need a moment?" Pidge says, and Lance pulls away quickly, before looking past Pidge and Shiro, and at Krolia, who is staring at Lance. With narrow eyes.

In an instant, Keith watches his mother move closer to Lance, and he goes to stop her before she can shred him to ribbons.


	5. A Hug of the Arms and Neck

**I edited the chapter and made it longer since I wasn't happy with it! I hope you don't mind! I also am making a poll for the shipping of characters in the Second Generation of Voltron. Please go check it out, because the relationships of the Second Gen Paladins will be mentioned at some point in the story. Thank you!**

 **~ DEKU**

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

Arms fly around him. At first he wore he was going to die at the hands of Keith's mother, but... instead, he was enveloped. In a hug. An excited, tight, being-lifted-off-the-ground type of hug. "I am so happy that you two have reconciled!" Krolia says, and Lance blinks.

"Huh?" He asks, blinking some, and Keith whines, "We were just hugging, mom. Nothing more." He says, and Krolia looks at him, "So you weren't..?"  
Keith shakes his head, "Nope. Just a hug."

Krolia slowly, awkwardly, sets Lance down and smiles, "You're Lance, yes?" She asks, as if she doesn't seem to already know. Winded by the rib bruising hug, Lance just nods.

"Yes... I'm... Lance." He wheezed out, straightening out his back with an ugly pop. Krolia smiles at him kindly, "Keith says you're the second best pilot in all of Voltron."

Lance's expression at Krolia's words look pained, and he looks at Keith, appalled at being called 'second best.' Keith rubs his neck, looking flustered, "Um... I didn't mean anything rude by that. It's a good thing."

Lance looks at Keith, "Who's first best pilot?" He asks, sounding like he was accusing Keith of something. Keith waves his arms around wildly, "No, Lance, I... I didn't mean anything bad by that. Really, I... I was just saying that you're a good pilot."

Krolia smiles, "Yes, he said you were the best pilot. After him, I mean, as Keith is a great pilot." She says, and Keith looks at his mom with a slack jaw. "I... he's a good pilot. He doesn't need to be compared to anyone, mom. I mean, we're all good pilots, but, his skills have grown amazingly, and just..."

"So I was a bad pilot that got better?" Lance asks, and Keith was starting to regret telling his mom what Lance looked like, or even his name. "Not what I meant, Lance, I... You're a good pilot."

Lance's expression make Keith quite possibly wish to punch himself. In his own face. Shiro steps in, and he places a hand on Lance's shoulder, "Let's just all... Calm down, okay? Keith is right, you have greatly improved since the Desert near Garrison. That's a compliment, Lance."

Lance looks at Keith, then Shiro, and then back at Keith, before he glares at him. Stepping back into the elevator, Lance presses the up button, and crosses his arms, glaring at Keith until the doors slowly close. Once the doors are closed, Lance sighs and drops his arms, his expression full of uncertainty, and, he then hugs his left arm with his right.

Pidge sighs some, and looks at Keith, "Smooth, Kogane. Real real smooth." Hunk nods in agreement, "Yeah, I agree."

Krolia looks confused, "Smooth? Who's soft?" She says, and Keith shakes his head, sighing. "Not what she means, mom." Keith really was giving Lance a compliment, as he really does believe that Lance has gotten better. He is... a good pilot. He meant that, but he never gave him a ranking of greatness. He's a good pilot, and that's that.

Confused, Krolia nods her head, as Allura motions to everyone to follow her to the table. Sitting next to Keith, Krolia looks at him and whispers, "Did you not want Lance to know that you said that?"

Keith sighs and he shakes his head "No... Not really. He and I... we... He thinks we're in some sort of rivalry, and... I think him thinking I considered him to be the second best pilot meant that he was second best to me..." He says, softly, and Krolia nods. "I see." She says slowly.

Keith sighs, rubbing his neck. He knows Lance a lot better than most would think, and he knows Lance doesn't like to anything less than Keith's' equal. Which Keith wanted nothing more than to make apparent that he does see Lance as his equal.

With a sigh, he looks towards his mother and quietly asks," Why did you say it?" Krolia shrugs, and smiles, "I thought it was a good thing to give compliments." She says, and Keith raises a brow, "A compliment, not a 'I'm-Better-Than-You'... thing." He says, and Krolia slowly nods, not understanding.

Allura smiles, trying to start up conversation as she goes to open her mouth, before the dining hall doors slide in, and.. Lotor enters the room. Keith had found himself hoping it was Lance, but, when he sees the purple skin and long white-purple hair, he and his mother stand.

Krolia took one look at Lotor, and, she had him by the neck mere seconds later, squeezing tightly, while Keith stood between Lotor and his team, already having his sword in hand.

"Wait!" Shiro says, moving towards Lotor, and Krolia gives Shiro a stare hard enough to look like a brick wall. "Why? He's the son of Zarkon! We can stop the empire now if we kill him!"

Keith nods in agreement, and Allura stands, "He is not our enemy, as surprising as it seems. Lotor wants to stop the empire as much as we do." She says, and Krolia scoffs, squeezing Lotor's neck harder as black spots dance in the Galran princes' vision.

"He will destroy us all if we don't kill him now." Krolia says, and Keith nods, before looking back at Allura. "I agree with mom. He could be lying."  
Allura sighs, and Shiro shakes his head. "He isn't. He's... Shown his loyalty enough times to prove otherwise."

Hunk nods, "He helped me and Pidge fix the control panels on a Galra ship. He also helped Allura find out how to possibly create more lions."

Keith stares at them, then at his mother and Lotor, who was starting to go limp, and he sighs. "Mom." He says, and she looks at him.

"Let him go." He says, and Krolia looks like she wants to argue. "What?"

Keith shakes his head, "Let him go." He says, sighing as he puts away his sword away. Krolia glares at Lotor, but, she lets him go, or more so drops him onto the ground with a satisfactory shove.

Keith looks at Allura and Shiro as they go over to Lotor and help him up. Keith looks at Pidge, and he says, "Create more lions?"

Pidge nods, "Yes. Allura is trying to make a white one." She says, and, Keith slowly nods. "I see..."

Hunk smiles and goes over to pat a hand on Keith's shoulder, before the alarm goes off, and Coran bursts into the room, "We have a distress becon coming from the planet Graxt! We need Voltron!" He says, and Keith looks at Shiro.

Shiro looks at Allura, who nods, before looking at Keith, then the rest of them, "Let's get to our lions." He says, looking at everyone.

Keith looks to his mother, then at Allura, "Keep her safe?" He asks, and Allura smiles. "Will do."

Smiling, Keith turns, and heads to Reds hanger, almost excited to see his kitty again.


	6. The Start of a Mission

**Take my poll on who the Second Generation Paladin's should be with in a relationship, please!**

Chapter Six

He takes a moment to get changed. It feels different now, he feels different now. He knows he's still the same, but... He knows he's not all at the same time. He's calmer, more level headed, more... Whole. He has his mother, he's no longer an orphan.

Keith smiles as he puts on his armor like it was the first time. It seems like a life time ago he was doing this, but... It's actually only been a few months.

In the back of his mind, he wonders if Red would take him back, accept him into his cockpit. He hopes he does, but, there is doubt. Maybe Red had grown to like Lance, maybe Red wanted Lance to be his pilot. But Keith doesn't let that doubt get to him. He knows Red wouldn't pick him over Lance. Mostly because Lance is always going to pick Blue over Red. Or at least, Keith thinks he will.

He looks around for his bayard, not spotting the device anywhere near his suit. He turns just in time to see Lance shove a red bayard in his face, a frown deep on his tanned face.

Keith blinks, before taking the bayard slowly, "Thank you." He says, smiling at him awkwardly, and Lance doesn't respond. He only turns, and walks back to his Blues' hanger.

Keith sighs, and turns to look at Red. He gives a faint smile, "Hey, boy." He says, going over and standing in front of him.

"Can I come in?" He asks, and, the robotic creature didn't move. "Red." Keith calls, looking up at him. "It's me. Keith?" He says, and, he remembers the first time he found Red. He chuckles faintly, mostly at his hotheadedness, and, at his attempt of bonding.

He sighs, and he looks up at Red, "Remember that? Me trying to bond with you the first time we met? I was... pretty awkward then. I mean, I still am, but... Not as badly as then. I guess being with Lance, and everyone else, and... Finding my mom kinda helped fix that. I'm still hotheaded, sure, but, I think before acting. Sometimes... Rarely... I mean, I... but... you know what, that doesn't matter. Do you remember any of that?" He asks, sighing some, and Red's eyes come to life.

Keith feels a smirk curl over his lips as Red moves, opening his mouth to let Keith in. He runs up the ramp, and into the cockpit, sitting in the chair. "Good Red." He says, gently taking the controls, and, Red stands up, purring faintly at the praise.

"God, what has Lance done to you?" Keith chuckles, remarking at how far the chair is from the dash, and he moves it forward. "Let's kick some ass, shall we?" Keith says, moving the controls forward, and Red moves, flying out of the hanger.

He meets everyone outside, smiling at them. Shiro's beaming expression on his face as he pops up on Keith's dash, "It's good to have you back, Keith." He says, feeling proud of the Red Paladin.

Keith raises a flirty brow as he smirks, "Glad to be back, Shiro." Shiro smiles, and he says, "Alright. Allura, have you sent us the coordinates yet?"

Allura's voice comes through the coms, "I just sent them. There are three distress signals, I think it might be best if you go in pairs to see what the issue is."

Shiro nods, "I agree. Lance, you go with Hunk, Pidge, you're with me. Keith, you good with going alone?"

"Um, actually, do you mind if I go with Lance?" Keith asks, blinking. Shiro raises a brow, thinks for a moment, before Keith adds, "I... Think it'd be a good team building exercise."

Blinking, the Japanese man mulls it over, before nodding, "I suppose so, but, do not let your... "Rivalry" get in the way of the mission? You understand, Lance?"

Lance, who had been surprisingly quiet the entire time, says, "Yes, sir." Keith blinks as he looks at Shiro's face on his screen, "It was my fault for this morning, Shiro." He says, and Shiro sighs, "He surely did nothing to help."

Keith frowns, before looking towards Lance's face on his dash, his expression unreadable. "Ready to go, Lance?" He asks, and, the boy nods slowly.

"Wait-wait-wait, Am I going alone, or is Pidge going alone? Which one do I go to? What happens if Galra soldiers are there? What do I do?" Hunk says, and everyone collectively sighs.

"With Pidge, second location, call for backup." Keith says, and Shiro nods, "Exactly. Now let's move, and, everyone. Keep your guard up."


	7. Dads?

Chapter Seven

"Lance." Keith says, looking at the Blue Paladin when they meet up outside the first distress signal location.

The Cuban boy only glances at him, before looking away, "The distress signal must of come from that city." He says, pointing at the city nestled in the valley beneath the hill they stand on.

Keith sighs and he moves to stand next to Lance, looking down at the city. There, several reptilian people gathered around something covered in a tarp, and they were clamouring on about... whatever was under the tarp.

Lance sighs, "Wanna head down?" He asks, looking at Keith, and Keith sighs. "Hey, can we talk first?" He asks, and, Lance shakes his head.

"No." He says, before sliding down the hill and towards the city. Keith looks after him, before doing his best to follow, "Lance, please."

"No." Lance says, and Keith sighs. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, or... offend you. I told my mom that you were an impressive pilot and that you have grown to be even better than me, and she... Well... A mom has to mom, I guess." He says.

They make it to the bottom of the hill, and Lance twirls around to glare at Keith. "Sure, that's what happened. Why were you even talking about me in the first place? What even prompted you, of all people, to think about little Lance?" He asks, angry. Keith begins to wonder if Lance's anger is stemmed off his insecurities being jabbed at with a needle, or, if he is lashing out due to the 'rivalry'.

Keith sighs as he rubs his neck. He had started talking about Lance after his mother started talking about relationships. Namely romantic relationships. She was talking about Keith's father, and Keith smiled when Krolia says that she would give everything to go back to him.

He distinctly remembers thinking the same about Lance, saying that he missed his teasing the most out of everything Voltron offered him. Krolia had asked why this 'Lance' fellow teased him, and... That started a rather lengthy discussion about Lance.

And that's how Keith realised he has a heavy crush on Lance. Like... an "I want to be with you til the day we die" type of crush. It's what drove him to return, what drove him to stay alive, what drove him to finish his mission.

Lance glares at Keith as he zones out, "Well? What is it?" He asks, angrily, and Keith blinks. "Huh?"

Lance glares at Keith more, his anger increasing at Keith's blatant ignorance. "Why the hell did you mention me, Keith? Why talk about me at all? What shit did you mention to your mother that made her think I hated you? Huh? What?" He asks, seething, and Keith blinks, before he shakes his head.

"No, no, no- Lance, I was talking about you in a good way. I... Can't really tell you what. I don't think I'm ready to devolge in what exactly I said, but... It was all good. She thought you were making fun of me to be mean, and,... I don't know. I'm... Just... Ugh... You have to just believe me, Lance. I didn't say anything bad about you." Keith says, and Lance feels his anger subside.

"You promise?" Lance says, and Keith nods, placing a hand on Lance's shoulder softly. "I swear, Lance. It was all good, I promise." He says, and Lance watches as a smile spans across Keith's face.

 _It... He... I... Just... Wow_. That was all that came to Lance's mind at the sight of Keith's happy smile. He can't help the smirk come on his mouth, and Lance quirks up his brows. "What kind of good things?"

Keith groans and pulls away, " _Lance_. Don't." He says, before looking towards the covered item. "We should go investigate." He says, changing the topic.

Lance pouts, as Keith passes him by and heads towards the covered item. He sighs and turns, following behind the Red Paladin. Keith looks at the tallest reptilian person, who is speaking to other reptilian people. "Mustn't touch. Graxta has birthed lion."

Keith blinks as Lance raises a tentative brow, "Um... excuse us, Sir. We're Paladins of Voltron. What do you mean lion?" Lance says, and the reptilian person turns to look at them.

"Strangers!" It screeches, and Keith holds up both his hands. "We mean no harm. We got a distress signal from this location." He says, as the reptilian person keeps screeching.

Lance, who had gotten closer to the covered item while Keith was being screamed at by the reptilian creatures, freezes when he sees what's underneath the tarp. "Um... Keith..." he says slowly, looking to the Red Paladin.

Looking at Lance, Keith tries to ignore the screeching, "Yeah, Lance? What's up?"

Lance had wide eyes, and he, in one swift movement, pulls the tarp off. Exposing... An Indigo Lion. Laying on it's side, it's mouth still closed.

Keith stares at the lion, then looks at Lance, then back at the Lion. He hears Lance say, "Princess, are you sure there's only the five lions of Voltron?" He asks, and Allura's voice comes through.

"Yes. Why?" She asks, and Keith swallows. "Because we just found a sixth lion. A... purple lion."

Allura falls quiet, before she says, "Bring it to us." She says, and Keith looks at Lance, who was looking at him already.

Lance looks back to the lion laying on its side, before he says, "What if it's pilot is still inside?" He says, and Keith looks at him, "That's begging to question if this thing even has a pilot."

Lance stares at the lion, before slowly going up to the lion, and pressing a hand to the mouth. "Let us in, gorgeous? We want to help." Lance says, and the mouth almost instantly opens, prompting Lance to step back.

He steps back enough for the mouth to open, showing a sideways boy trying to make his way down the stairs shakily. He was in indigo armour, and had his helmet on. He takes one step onto the ground, before groaning and falling forward onto the ground. Keith and Lance both move to catch his arms, as the younger, smaller lad whispers something softly, before promptly passing out.

Keith looks at Lance with a confused gaze. "Did... did he just...?" He asks, and Lance nods, looking at the boy. "Emerge out of a purple lion in paladin armor and pass out on us? Yes?"

Keith shakes his head, "No, not that. Did he... Just call us... Dads?"


	8. Life Advice and Running Away

Chapter Eight

"He doesn't look to be any older than Pidge." Shiro says, staring through the fogged glass of the healing pod.

Pidge looks at Shiro indignantly, "Excuse me! I'm turning sixteen this year." She says, and Shiro smiles at her kindly. "I know, and he looks to be either fifteen or sixteen himself."

After taking the lion, and the boy, back to the castle, Keith and Lance had gotten Coran to put the boy in healing pod, while Allura and Lotor examined the lion.

Krolia was standing behind Keith, who stood next to Lance. "Coran said he's sixteen, probably halfway through his sixteenth life year, or whatever." Lance says, and Keith chuckles at Lance.

Shiro turns to look at them, "You said you found him at the distress site with a purple lion?"

Lance nods, "Yep. The people had him covered with a tarp, claiming their planet made it. When we tried to ask what they meant, they started screeching at us."

"You mean me, Lance. They started screaming at me." Keith says, and Lance chuckles as he smirks, "I would if I saw you with your mullet."

Keith sighs, before looking at Lance as he tries his hand at embarrassing him, "You really obsess over my hair, don't you? Jealous yours isn't as gorgeous?"

Lance's jaw drops, and after several attempts of opening and closing his mouth, he huffs, and looks away. Keith chuckles as he looks at Shiro, who is staring at them, before the Japanese man clears his throat and looks at Coran.

"What can you tell us about him?" Shiro asks, and Coran smiles some. "Well, he's half Galra, like Keith. He is rather healthy, and... That's all I can say. The rest you'll have to wait to obtain from him."

Shiro nods, and he looks at Keith and Lance, "Are you sure the lion you saw him in is like ours?"

Keith nods, "Yes. The lion was like mine, but, smaller, and purple." He says. Pidge pushes her glasses up, and she says, "I can run a diagnostic on the lion to see if the metal used in our lions is the same metal in his. I can als try and find the origins of the metal, if it's not the same as ours."

Hunk nods, "I can run a diagnostic on the lion and see what caused it to crash." He says, and Shiro nods. "Alright."

Keith smiles some, "We... We can stay here, me and Lance. Wait till he wakes up." He says, and Shiro smiles faintly.

"Okay. I'm gonna go help Allura." He says, turning and following everyone who's leaving out of the room.

Keith looks at Lance and Krolia, "Wanna take shifts?" He asks, and Lance nods, "Yeah. I'll go first."

It was during Keith's shift did the boys healing pod open as he falls out. Keith tries to catch him as he could, and for a moment, the boy stares at Keith, before pulling away.

Keith stares at him, "Um... What's your name?" He asks, softly, and, the boy swallows. "Um... Laith..."

Keith blinks, "Laith? That's your name?"

The boy with brown hair nods, "Yes, my name is Laith, um... Laith... Mc..." He says, before looking towards the movement that took place to the left of the healing pod.

Keith looks to the left, and he sees Lance stretching out his arms, yawning. Keith looks at Laith, before rubbing the back of his neck, "Um... I'm Keith. He's Lance. We're-"

"Paladins of Voltron. Defenders of the universe. I've heard of you." Laith says, smiling, before looking around. "We're in the Castle?"

Keith furrows his brows, "How did you know this is the castle?" He asks, and Laith goes rigid for a moment, before he looks at Keith. "Do you have food? My uncle always said when confused, eat your weight."

Keith blinks, and goes to say something before Lance comes up besides him. "Answer our questions, then, you can eat."

Laith blinks, "Questions? What questions?"

Keith furrows his brows, "Um... The questions you keep avoiding." Laith smiles as he shakes his head, "Nonsense. I'm not avoiding anything." He says, going around and heading out the door, too quick for Keith and Lance to stop him.

* * *

 **(So this chapter was awkward and hard to write, but, I tried. I'm hella fudging tired. They'll be a new chapter tomorrow)**


	9. Space Time Continuum: Myth or Fact?

Chapter Nine

It took them a while to find the brown haired boy. He is exactly where he said he'd be, in the kitchen. Of course it crosses both Keith and Lance's mind on how Laith knew where the kitchen was.

Laith looks at them, a mouth full of food goo, and Lance raises a brow, "How did you know where the kitchen is? Or where we keep the food goo?"

Laith looks down at his plate, then at the two people in the doorway. "I can smell food a mile away." He says, blinking at them like that was the answer to everything.

Keith sighs and he moves over to him, "You have your food, so... Can you answer our questions now?"

Laith shovels in a spoonful of food in his mouth, before mumbling a muffled response. Lance sighs, "You are avoiding questions. We want to know why you have a purple lion, why you have paladin armor, why you... called one of us dad, and why do you know where everything is in the castle?"

Laith stares at them for a moment, before looking away, and he sighs. His blue-purple eyes flick over to them, and he sighs. "You ever see the movies Back To The Future or Looper or Source Code or... Even Star Trek?"

Lance nods, while Keith looks completely and utterly confused, looking at Lance, "I... don't know any of those..." Lance and Laith both stare at Keith for a while, before Laith says, "Wow, you weren't kidding. You really didn't live."

Keith looks at Laith, furrowing his brows, "What? When did I ever say that?" He asks, and Laith's face goes blank as he slowly looks away.

Keith furrows his brows, as he feels his annoyance levels starting to rise, "When did I say that?"

Laith swallows, and he looks at Lance, "What do all those movies have in common, D... Lance?" He asks, not trying to let the awkwardness of calling his father by his first name.

Lance hums in thought, before looking at Laith, "Time travel." He says, sounding somewhat amazed, and Keith frowns, "Okay, what?"

Lance and Laith both ignore him, as Lance says, somewhat excited, "Are you trying to say you're from the future?" He asks, and Laith looks away, "I plead the fifth."

Keith frowns, "We're not on Earth." He says, at the same time the Cuban boy next to him gets excited, "Oh mio dios! You are from the future!"

Laith sighs, "I can't answer questions." He says, and Lance looks at Keith, as the raven haired boy goes to say something. "He's from the future, meaning he must be worried that if he did, he'd affect the future. Right?"

Laith doesn't respond, other than to take a bite of his food. Lance smiles, and he goes to sit across from Laith, "How about we ask yes or no answers, and you respond by either eating a bite of food goo, or... or..." He looks around, "You take a drink of this." He says, snatching a cup off the counter and filling it with liquid. "Eat for yes, drink for no, or plead the fifth for either not answering, or you don't know. Can you do that?"

Keith stares at Lance, wondering where the hell he had gotten this idea, but, he looks at Laith, who nods.

Lance grins, and he leans on his elbows over the counter. "Okay, um...-" He's cut off by Keith, who says, "Do you know me and Lance in the future?"

Laith takes a bite of food, slowly. Lance grins, and he leans forward, "Are me and Allura married?" Both Laith and Keith give Lance a bizarre look, as Laith drinks from the glass.

"Are you a Paladin?" Keith asks, and Laith takes a bite of food. "Is the lion yours?" He asks, and another bite is taken.

"Did Allura make it?" Lance asks, and Laith takes a bite. Keith raises a brow, "You know Allura? Do you know all the Paladins?" He asks, and Laith sighs, setting down his spoon. "I might as well tell you since I doubt you'll stop asking questions."

Lance shakes his head wildly, "No! You can't do that! You'll disrupt the space time continuium!"

Laith blinks, "You realise that's a myth, right? Time has a way to correct itself. You can't change what's supposed to happen, only delay it."

Keith looks at Lance as he stammers wildly, while Laith smiles some. "You do that when Pa flirts with you." He says, smiling at Lance.

Keith feels his chest hallow out, looking at Lance as the Cuban boys' face blanks, "Pa? You mean I marry a man?" Lance asks, and Laith nods.

"You told me and Kenny that you were in denial of being bisexual until you were about... nineteen. You marry Pa when the two of you are in your twenties."

Lance blinks, before he looks away as his face flushes, "I... Are you sure that I'm the man you think I am?"

Laith smiles and he nods, "Yeah. I mean, it'd be bad if I can't recognise my own parents." Keith blinks, "What do you mean?"

Laith sighs, and he points one finger at Lance, "Dad." He lifts up his other finger, and points at Keith, "Pa." He says, before pointing at himself with both fingers, "Laith McKogane."

Keith's jaw drops, and he looks at Lance, then, Laith. "We're married? Me and Lance? And we have a son?"

Laith smiles as he nods, "Two, technically, but, yes. You two are... really happy in the future... I suppose you two aren't dating, a... are you?" He asks, and, both men shake their head.

"Oh..." Laith says, the smile falling, "Um... Sorry..." He says, rubbing his neck. "I..." Keith shakes his head, "No. You shouldn't be sorry. I mean... We were asking question, and-" He's cut off by the door opening and closing, Lance having left the room while he was speaking.

Keith blinks at the door closing, before sighing, and, Laith looks apologetic, "I'm sorry, Pa... Uh,... Keith. I shouldn't have said anything."

Keith looks at Laith, before faintly smiling, despite wanting to do what Lance had just done and flee from Laith, but he could read the slight pain on the younger boys face. Keith smiles faintly, and he gently, awkwardly, pats the boys shoulder. "You can call me Pa. I... Won't make you call me Keith, since I'm sure that feels weird to you. Um... You wanna go see everyone else?"

Laith brightens and he nods, "Yeah! Can I see Uncle Hunk first? Or if she's here, Grandma?"

Keith blinks, before chuckling faintly, "Let's go see Uncle Hunk... I mean Hunk first, and um,... Do you think you can just call them by their first name? Not aunt or uncle?"

Laith blinks, before slowly nodding, "Uh... yeah..." He says, slowly, and Keith smiles faintly, "You can still call me Pa, if you want."

Laith smiles, and he nods, "I do." He says, smiling as he takes Keith's arm in his hands.

He had to resist his urge to pull away from him. Something about suddenly learning your future, and that you not only get married, but have two children, it's just... shocking. Terrifying. Nerve-wrecking. And right now, Keith wanted nothing more than to go after Lance, or to pretend today never happened.

* * *

 **(So sorry I didn't post a chapter yesterday! Forgive me!)**


	10. Intuition is Strong In This One

**(It's 12 fucking am and I'm struggling to focus on not losing my mind while watching Criminal Minds and freaking out over my hypocondriasm, but guess the flip what? I have you guys' chapter cause your reviews and support make me happy! :):) )**

Chapter Ten

Lance... is panicking. Full blown panicking. He's pacing his room like a crazy person as he tugs at his hair, trying to clear his mind.

A kid.. with Keith? Of all people on this ship, he chooses Keith?! Why? Just... Lance couldn't wrap his mind around it. He... He... sinks on his bed and sighs, clawing at his short hair.

He knows he cares for Keith, that he likes the way his hair is pulled back when he's training, or that he was so happy to hear Keith was back, and... shit.

Maybe he cares a bit more Keith than he initially thought he was... He tugs at his hair. He is not bi, he's not pan, and he sure as hell is not gay. So why does this kids words bother him so much? Why does the idea of being married to Keith, to be a parent with Keith, terrify him.

... Terrify? No... That's not the word... It... Shakes him. Rattles his mind until it's nothing more than just mush and liquid sloshing around in it's brain cage. He feels tears slip down his face, and Lance covers his mouth in attempts to hide the chocked sob escaping him.

He... He can't be bi. He can't be a parent with Keith. He can't be married to Keith. He can't be bi and in love with Keith. He just can't. He can't...

Can he...?

Keith watches as Laith excitedly chatters with Hunk, letting the older boy talk about his project, which Keith didn't hear what he called it.

Keith could tell that Laith was fully aware of what Hunk was saying, but, he would act like he had no idea what each thing he said meant.

Laith smiles at Hunk happily, before looking at Keith, "Um.. can I go get some water?" He asks, following Keith's agreement to not call him, or Lance, Pa or Dad while around any of the others.

Keith smiles and he nods, "Yeah, go ahead." He says, and Laith gets up, jogging to the kitchen. Hunk looks at Keith with a raised brow, "So, um... He's awake."

Keith chuckles awkwardly, "Uh,.. Yeah." Hunk raises a brow, "He answer any questions?"

He pauses for a moment, before shaking his head, "He uh... Said he couldn't remember anything. He only knows his name, and that uh... He's from a different time."

Hunk blinks, before he slowly nods, "And his name is...?" Keith smiles some, trying to divert the topic. "Laith. He doesn't know his last name."

"Um... What time is he from?" He asks, and Keith looks away, "Oh... Um.. the future, maybe? He wasn't sure." He says, as Laith comes back in the kitchen, a glass of water in one hand, and a cookie in the other.

Hunk stares at Laith, "How did you find my stash?" He asks, and Laith grins, "Me and my brother have an amazing sense of smell. My brother even more than me." He says, and Hunk blinks.

"You have a brother?" He asks, casting a look at Keith, who looks away. Laith smiles, "An older twin, named Kenneth. He... He looks like Grandma." He says, and Hunk raises a brow.

"Who's your grandma?" He asks, and Laith tenses, before looking away. "No one important... Hey, what's that?" He asks, pointing to something.

Hunk, being best friends with Lance, doesn't take the bait, and he raises a brow. "She must be important if you mention her." He says, and Laith looks at Keith, whom is looked at by Hunk too.

Keith looks torn, before sighing as he looks at Hunk, "You can't tell anyone, especially Shiro and Allura, they'd have a cow." Hunk raises a brow, before shaking his head as he laughs faintly, "You realise who my best friend is, right? I have a lot of baggage, and I am very good at keeping secrets."

Keith sighs, and he looks at Laith, nodding, "You can tell him, Laith." He says, and Laith smiles, "Okay, Pa."

Hunk raises a brow, as Laith looks at Hunk, "Keith and Lance are my parents. I...'m from the future."

Hunk blinks, before he looks at Keith, "You're messing with me, aren't you? This is some sort of joke?"

Laith shakes his head, and so does Keith, "Nope. Not joking. He's telling the truth."

Hunk blinks, before looking at Laith, "Okay, prove it. What do you know about me?"

"You marry Shay from the Balmera, and have a girl named Teulia. You name her after your grandmother, and you teach her how to cook classic Samoan dishes."

Hunk blinks for a moment, before he looks completely overjoyed, "I have a daughter?" He asks, sounding rather excited, and Laith smiles.

"She's the Orange lions' paladin, it's the lion of Optimism. She looks like you, but acts a lot like Shay, though, her English isn't as broken." Laith says, and Hunk looks like he's over the moon. Not at the mention of a child, but, at the mention of being married. His smile was only one to discribe... complete glee.

Keith, now intrigued, leans forward, "What is your lion, Laith?" Laith looks at Keith, and he smiles, "Lion of Intuition. Indi and I, we both have it."

Keith swallows some, "So um... What about your brother? What's he like?" Hunk looks at Laith, nodding excitedly, and Laith gives a small, hopeful smile.

"Kenny, he's... Stubborn." Laith looks at Keith, "You often say he's a lot like you. You go up to him sometimes and say, 'you're starting to act too much like your pa, you know that?' and he responds with, 'yeah? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?'"

Keith smiles faintly, "How do I respond?" He asks, and Laith grins, "You respond with, 'I don't know, Kenny. We'll just have to wait and see, now don't we?'"

Hunk looks at Keith, "Damn, bro. You sound like an amazing dad... er... Pa." Laith grins and he nods, smiling, "He is. He and Lance both are... Pa says I'm just as flirty as Dad, and Dad says Kenny is just as reckless as Pa."

Hunk grins, leaning forward, "So um... Why are you here? Are you here to get your parents together because some drastic thing happened to push them apart or-"

Laith cuts in between him, "No. No, um... Me and everyone else, we..." He sighs, "My brother and I, along with Aeryn, Teulia, and Kallura, were trying to stop a Dexterra ship from time hopping, and, after an accident, I was sent spiralling into a time hole and, the next thing I know, I'm crashing into a planet."

Hunk and Keith look confused, Keith asking what a Dexterra ship was while Hunk asks who Kallura and Aeryn were. Laith smiles faintly, "Dexterra is an alien species that had recently had a government shift, the king of the planet favoring Galra tactics. He used technology to create a device that allows him and his people to go back in time. They want to help the Galra destroy Voltron."

Hunk blinks, before he looks incredibly nervous, "Destroy Voltron, like... Like kill all of us destroy Voltron? Or like... Beat us at Uno?"

Laith swallows some, "Um... Not the last option, I'm telling you that." He says, and, Hunk swallows, by looking at Keith. "We should tell Shiro."

Keith shakes his head, "No. No, not yet. He'll freak out over Laith being from the future alone, I know that much." He says, and Laith mumbles something.

Keith looks at Laith, "What was that?" He asks, and Laith shakes his head, his mouth clamped shut. "Laith." He says, and Laith again shakes his head. "Laith McKogane, don't make me pop you." He says, not even realising the words slipping out of his mouth. Not until Hunk starts laughing, and Keith shoots him a glare, before looking at Laith.

"Tell me, or so help me, I will beat you like a red headed step child." He says, and Laith whines, "I hate that phrase so much." He says, whining, and Keith stares. "Tell me."

Laith whines, "I... said... Shiro would freak out over it... If he was the real Shiro."


	11. Sharpshooter and Shiro

**(I am so sorry this is so short and I am so sorry this is a day late! I'll be attempting to post three chapters today: one for yesterday, one for today, and one for tomorrow!)**

 _Chapter Eleven_

Keith and Hunk stare at Laith like he's crazy, blinking some. "What... Do... you mean 'if he's the real Shiro?'"

Laith sighs as he rubs his neck, "Well... You don't find the real Shiro until after Pa and Dad are dating, when Dad is nineteen and Pa is eighteen. Even then, you don't find him until maybe... After June? If I'm remembering what Uncle Shiro told me properly, then... You don't find him until then."

Hunk looks horrified, while Keith looks at Laith, "Where do we find him?" He asks, and Laith looks away, "I... don't know. You... You don't tell me that part of the story. You say that it's really really really bad."

Keith looks to be on edge now, and he leans in, whispering to Laith, "Then... Who is here? Posing as Shiro? I mean... He looks just like Shiro. How do we know he isn't the real Shiro?"

Laith whispers back, "He's a clone. Made by the Galra to infiltrate Voltron and tear you apart limb by limb. Dad is to be the first that the clone is supposed to try and tear away from us."

Keith's eyes widen and he pulls back suddenly, loudly exclaiming, "What!" Hunk shushes him, and Keith takes a deep breath.

Hunk looks at Laith, "What does... the clone do?" He asks, and Laith sighs, "He uses Dad's insecurities and homesickness, and makes Dad want to go home bad enough that he packs up and has Allura open a worm hole. Though... Pa..." Laith looks at Keith, and he smiles kindly, "Tells Dad he loves him. That to him, Lance is family, and he doesn't want Lance to leave him."

Keith blinks, before flushing when Hunk gives Keith a smug grin, "Stop it." He says, glaring at Hunk. Hunk laughs, and looks at Laith, "Who knew Keith could be a softie."

Laith grins, "Pa did always say that he changed for the better because of Dad. That Dad made him realise he was a much better person than he thought he was."

Hunk coos and looks at Keith, who is red faced and glaring at the yellow paladin. "Hunk... Shut up." He says.

Laith grins playfully, "Hey, Pa." He asks, and Keith looks at Laith, "Yes?" He asks.

"Why don't you go talk to Pa, and Uncle Hunk can show me around to the rest of the Paladins?" He asks, and Hunk grins. "Yeah! I'll introduce you to Pidge next!"

Keith looks unsure, before he nods, "Okay... Do you know what to tell everyone else?" He asks Hunk, and Hunk nods, "Yep."

Keith looks hesitant, mostly because he doesn't want to talk to Lance out of anxiety of what the Cuban boy will say or do, but... He knew he should.

Getting up and heading to the rooms, he thinks of what to talk about the entire way to Lance's door. Knocking softly on the metal, he calls out, "Lance? May I come in?"

Shuffling is heard, and the door opens. Lance is very obviously trying not to appear like he was upset, "Uh, Keith. Hi." He says, and Keith feels his entire monologue he wrote in his mind evaporate.

"Lance, can we-!" Keith finds himself silenced by a hand on his mouth, his eyes wide as Lance looks at him.

"Keith, I... I'm not exactly ready to talk about this. I care about you, and I might even like like you, but... The... kid..." He looks at the ground, and Keith feels himself ache.

"I love you too, Lance." He says, and Lance flinches, weakly looking up at Keith with wide eyes.

"Does being around me bother you?" Keith asks, pulling away from Lance with a sigh.

"No! Just..." Lance says, sighing as he doesn't look up from the floor, "I... I need time to think about everything. Don't freak out, I won't run from this, and I do want to talk about us, but,... I don't want some kid from the future telling me what will come of my future. I... Just want to be sure of myself. Not of what I think I might feel."

Keith blinks, before starting to feel agony wrench at him. Lance, who had looked up somewhere in between his small rant, smiles faintly at Keith. He presses a hand into his cheek, "I... am pretty sure I like you, Keith. I don't doubt that. Just... let me think this through, okay? I won't make you wait long. I promise." He says, softly.

Keith blinks, before smiling softly, and he grabs Lance's hood, and pulls him down, kissing him. "I hope you keep your promise, Sharpshooter." Keith says after pulling away, and Lance blinks, before nodding.

"I will, Keith. Swear it." Lance says, slowly leaning in and pressing a kiss against Keith's lips softly.


	12. Yeehaw's and Indigo

Chapter Twelve

Pidge stares at Laith and Hunk. "You're... saying... He has no memory of anything."

Hunk nods, "Other than his name, and that he's not from the present." He says, and Pidge raises a brow. "Now, why don't I believe that?" She asks,

doubtful.

Hunk sighs, "I don't know." He says, and Pidge looks at Laith, "What's your name, and where are you from?" She asks, as her fingers hover over keys on her laptop.

Laith blinks, before he looks at the laptop, spotting wires, then proceeding to follow those wires straight up to his lion. "Um.. Laith. And... The future." He says.

Pidge smiles cheekily, "You remember more than you're letting on." She says, pushing up her glasses, and Laith blinks. "What? No I don't."

Pidge laughs at him, "Yes, you do. Why else look at your lion like you're concerned about it?" She says, and Laith looks at Indigo. "I...'m curious." He says, softly.

Pidge laughs at him, "Now I know your lying. You lie like Lance, omg." Hunk raises a brow at Pidge, before looking at Laith.

"I'm not lying." Laith says, and Hunk's eyes widen, "Oh my lord, he does." Pidge turns and points a finger at Hunk, "You just agreed with me that he's lying!"

"I think it's best if you don't know, Pidge." A disembodied Keith voice says, and everyone collectively turns to look at Keith and Lance. Laith smiles at Lance, who gives a very small smile back, while Pidge raises a brow.

"Why not?" She asks, and Keith smiles softly, "Because it's... a lot. Trust me." He says, softly, going over to Laith.

Hunk nods, "Yeah. It... really is. Wait." He looks at Laith, and mouths something to him silently. Laith nods, "Yep."

Hunk's jaw drops, "What? Really? Who with?" He asks, and Laith smiles. "No one. She builds her."

Pidge raises a brow, "Why are you talking about me?" She says, having seen Hunk mouth her name.

Keith sighs, "Let's not, right now. If we decide to fill you and Allura in, we will." He says, sighing. He looks at Laith, "You want to check on Indigo?"

Laith nods, "Yeah. I can feel she's worried for me, and she doesn't like the wires. At all." He says, and Keith looks at Pidge, "Can you remove the wires?"

Pidge raises a brow, before going over to the lion and removing the wires, slowly. Laith looks at Lance, who looks away, causing Laith's face to downfall.

Hunk watches, before smiling some, "Hey, Lance. Laith looks just like you when you're lying." He says, softly, and Lance looks at Hunk. "He does?"

Hunk nods, "Yep." He says, watching Laith move over to his lion, pressing a hand on the creatures face. "I'm fine, beautiful. No need to worry about me." He says, winking at the machine.

Hunk looks at Lance, "Yeah, I can definitely see why you say he takes up after you."

Pidge raises a brow, "Is he Lance's son?" She asks, and Lance bristles at those words. Keith clears his throat, "Um... What gave you that idea?"

Pidge points at Hunk, "He keeps comparing the two, and he's trying to get Lance to interact with Laith. So, taking that information, and that he's from the future, wearing a jacket that looks like Lance's, and driving a purple lion, then,... He's most likely Lance and someone else son. I'm guessing Keith, if we're still in space in the future, and have no one else on the ship that is represented by a red lion."

Everyone in the room blinks at Pidge, who simply pushes up her glasses. "What?" She asks, and Laith looks at Keith, "I forget she's really smart until she does that."

Pidge looks at Laith, "So I take it I'm not wrong?" She asks, and Laith shakes his head, "No... And that's as much as I'm saying until Pa says I can say more." He says, and Pidge snickers.

"'Pa'?" She says, at the same time Lance says, "Yeehaw," under his breath, making everyone except Keith laugh.

"Okay, you know what? Screw all of you." Keith says, crossing his arms as he pouts, and Laith hugs him. "Dad does that a lot in the future, especially when Kenneth calls you Pa, because Kenneth takes up after you. He gets upset like you." He says, and Keith rolls his eyes, before hugging his son softly.

"You better not do that, ya hear?" Keith says to Laith, who grins playfully, "No promises." He says, before promptly getting flicked in the forhead.

By Lance. "Only I can tease your Pa." Lance says, and Keith blinks at Lance, as Laith rubs his wound pouting. "Sorry, Pa... Sorry Dad..." He says softly.

Lance smiles at him, before his hand drops as realisation crosses his face. And he stares at everyone, who is all staring at him. Pidge was the first to break the silence, "Awwww, Lance and Keith, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-mpfh!" Her mouth is covered by Hunk, as an alarm goes off over head.

"Paladins, we have an intruder on the ship! We need you, now!" Allura says, sounding panicked, and everyone looks at each other, before all of them running out of Pidge's work room.


	13. Sugar, We're Going Down Swinging

Chapter Thirteen

It wasn't hard to get in the ship. So distracted with everything else, they have no problems creeping. It also helps that they know the scamatics and all the blueprints and floor layouts of the Castle of Lions.

They'd have to think him later for that. They fan their ears backwards, keeping an alert ear for any noise. Anything they can hear underneath the blaring alarms. Which they had forgotten to cut. And they had forgot to cut the cameras.

Maybe next time they'd have to remind themselves of those. If there's a next time.  
They tracked them to this location, so... Perhaps they safe? Eyes scan the halls, before quickly creeping down them. Only does large feet stop when they screech to a holt before Keith.

Violet eyes stare at them, before they narrow dangerously, and Keith's sword is drawn. "What are you doing here?" Keith asks, and gold eyes stare back.

"You have something of mine." They say, and Keith stares at them narrowly, "We don't have anything of yours. Leave now."

A grin crawls across their face, and they pull out their weapon; a long, heavy mallet made from metal. "Can't. You have something I want." They say, before moving to swing. Only, they deliberately miss, only causing Keith to fall backwards after knocking his legs out from underneath him.

They run down the halls, ducking away from Lance and Hunk, knowing they couldn't take on two Paladins. Then, they find themselves in the same hall with none other than Shiro. Or... Should they say... Kuron.

"I believe you chose the wrong ship to land in." Kuron says, and they grin. "I believe you chose the wrong person to pose as." They say, placing two hands on their mallet.

Several training sessions has given them a rather high advantage to knowing just how to beat Shiro, or any clone of him. He, and all Clones are left handed, after all, and they themselves are no different than him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kuron says, and they chuckle, "I believe you do. Now... easy way, or hard way?"

"I didn't realise there were other ways you could possibly beat me." Kuron says, his arm powering up, and they grin. "Please, I've dealt with the real Shiro. You, Kuron, are nothing compared to him." They say, before moving to slam the mallet down on the ground between them, attempting to crack the ground beneath it like they had done once ago.

Kuron growls, and in one swift movement, moves towards them, taking a sharp upper cut with his robotic arm. A quick flick of the mallet, and Kuron is thrown against the wall. "I have no qualms killing you." They say, and Kuron stands, with a groan.

"Good luck with that." He says, and they chuckle, "Luck is not necessary. You have something I want. Luck is not driving me at this particular moment." They say, and Kuron growls again, moving fast.

Several deflected hits, missed blows, and knock backs. Kuron was unrelenting, and so were they. A stamina to put even Lance to shame, agility to make Keith look like a turtle. They were trained well, and they were stronger that Kuron.

Shiro told them that himself. And they slide underneath Kuron's legs, purposely catching their mallet on his legs and pulling the clone to the ground, slamming that fake scar into the cracked flooring.

Standing quickly, they watched as Kuron groaned, before hearing the sharp skid of boots on the ground. They turned to see Keith moving to shish-ka-bab their side.

Then a voice cries out, and they're laying vertical on the ground, a weight on their chest. And Keith is blinking in shock, still in the attack stance he was in mere seconds ago.

Looking down, they blink at the brown haired boy snuggling into their chest, and... they... he sighs. "Laith." He says, hugging him tightly, tight enough to make his brother groan.

"Kenny... You're crushing me." He says, and Kenneth pulls back, "Ah... Sorry." He says, climbing to his feet with help. Laith smiles up at his taller twin, "You came for me." He says, grinning, and, Kenneth rolls his eyes, finding a grin of his own on his face. "Of course, Lai. Who else would I yell at if you're not there." He says, smiling.

Laith grins, before looking at the dumbfounded Keith, who is staring at them with a slack jaw, and wide eyes. "Pa, this is my twin. Kenneth, meet pre-marriage Pa." He says, and Kenneth looks at Keith.

"... Why is he so much shorter?"


End file.
